March 25, 2008

Crusade for Art

Here I am joyfully carving stamps and I find Michelle Ward's Art Crusade # 18 which is carving your own stamps! I love carving my own stamps! I am addicted to it! I can't wait till next month...stencils! I'm so happy she has this crusade I can join! There are others out there like me!

Freshly carved stamps. These will be used in my journals and art quilts. They work great with fabric paints

Here is how I transfer my designs: I draw or trace the design onto the back of a Post-it-Note with a 0.7mm #2 mechanical pencil. Then, I flip it over, sticky side down onto the rubber. Use a bone folder, edge of a ruler or whatever to rub the image (carefully) onto the rubber. Presto, your image is transferred. I use the pink and white carving material that comes in blocks. I also use the poly white erasers. Another hint, sometimes the material has a lot of loose, carved tiny bits that keep getting on your ink pad. I use cellophane tape to remove it. Just press it onto the newly carved stamp and it removes all those tiny bits.Remember, I carved stamps and posted the fabric in this post? Fun!

22 comments:

kathy mccreedy
said...

Hi Vivian! I love your stamps, especially the birds and the flower that you carved one half of... SO clever! And thanks for the tip on how to get those pesky little rubber bit off the newly carved stamps! Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for leaving the very kind comment, I really appreciate it!

Can I ask you something? Since you have been carving a while, what do you find is your favorite brand of rubber to use? I am a new carver and want to get it right from the get go! Oh yeah, thanks for leaving a nice comment on my first posting in Michelles Crusade...did you see my second post?

Vivian - you crack me up, "there are others like me". You found the right place girl, we are crazy for carving and are so glad you came to play with us so we can spaz with you over your terrific images. Thanks for your tips, especially the cleaning out bit - I run mine under water with a toothbrush, but the tape is much better!